WHO IS KIDNAPPING YOUNG GIRLS IN THIS SMALL TOWN?Detective Allie Down never had a strong relationship with her sister. Now her sister is dead – a tragic hit and run accident – and Allie leaves her busy city life to come back to her hometown to raise her teenage niece. She’s now in the role as mother instead of the ‘cool, fun’ aunt. Her niece is grieving the death of her mother and Allie has more … Allie has more questions than answers about what really happened the night Alex was killed.
Sandemor is a sleepy town. A place not many would know or remember. Compared to the city detective life, Allie isn’t sure how she’s going to make this work. Trying to track down a missing cat isn’t exactly what she signed up for.
Then comes the day two frantic – and newly divorced – parents show up to the police station. Pointing the finger at each other, claiming the other forgot to pick up their daughter from dance class two nights ago. All Allie hears is that a little girl has been missing for about forty-eight hours. If that’s not bad enough, both parents end up getting caught in lies as to what they were doing the night their daughter went missing.
Allie is thrust into the disappearance case, but she’s not alone. She didn’t know Ben Welloski became a detective. Last time she saw him, he was working in his father’s garage. The secret sparks between them are still there, but the focus has to be on finding young Jessie.
Clues lead Allie to another kidnapping case in a different town. The lead detective is an arrogant jerk, and the man accused of the kidnapping swears he’s innocent. Without enough evidence to make an arrest, Allie wonders if the man has struck again.
Just as she begins to piece things together, a call comes in that a body has been found nearby. When Allie arrives and sees who it is, she suddenly feels like she’s back in the big city again. Only here in her small town, any young child could be the next victim if she doesn’t act fast enough.
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A young girl, Jessie, is taken and neither parent reports it for over 36 hours. Meanwhile a young detective has moved home to raise Lo, teenage daughter of her late sister. Allie Down likes the big city and solving hard cases but here she is in a small town looking for a missing cat while dealing with Lo and her teenage angst.
Along with Allie, meet Ben and Garrison , both police and both know her from high school. Ben is the yin to Allie’s yang. He keeps her calm and encourages her talents to solve the crime. Cat and Connor hate each other so much, that rather than unite to find their daughter, Jessie, they waste the detectives time. You have Logan or Lo, troubled by her mom’s death and grieving yet keeps pushing Allie away. Then you have very sweet but smart Miss Kesslier, older resident in the apt. building near Lo and Allie.
See how an investigation is run and how the innocent and guilty are all treated with suspicion. Allie is a go getter and has her hopes pinned on bringing the girl home but no motives or clues are making people scared. And a dead girl is found!
Allie detests Johnny, a cop from the neighboring town and she can’t see why she hates him so much. Because she could become him! She concentrates on one person as the killer and even harasses him just as Johnny did Steve and nearly ruin his life. She takes too many chances and risks that could get her killed and leave Lo on her own.
The clues are subtle and the reasons for grabbing blonde girls is sad and awful. Allie is determined and good at her job and Ben and Miss Kesslier provide friendship. The ending is great as is the knowledge that this is is the first
book in a promising series. 4 stars
Allie returns to her home town after an accident that makes her the guardian of her 15 year old niece. Being a detective in a small town was much different than being one in a big city, but she’ll adjust. No choice in the matter, it would just take some getting used to. Right now, Allie was exactly where she wanted to be. Being home meant going down memory lane. The good, the bad, all of it. That included Ben. A guy she went to school with. A guy she passed over in favor of Tommy. The shoulder she cried on because of Tommy. That same Ben would now be her partner searching for a young girl named Jessie.
As Jessie finishes her dance class, she waits for her ride home. Jessie is a beautiful, talented little girl and soon she would add brave, smart and strong to those qualities. Jessie disappears without a trace.
Not long ago Allie was in the city working on the case that would make her a Detective, but would leave her with nightmares. Today she is in her home town trying to figure out another abduction case while raising a teenage girl….all the while knowing that, in both situations, failure is not an option.
THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING, IT PLAYED OUT LIKE A MOVIE IN MY MIND ! I WAS READING THE WORDS AND VISUALIZING THE CHARACTERS COMING TO LIFE ! THIS WAS THE BEST KIND OF WHODUNIT, WITH PLENTY OF SUSPECTS AND DIFFERENT THEORIES.
A GREAT STORY, WITH EVEN BETTER STORYTELLING ! ! ! AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ ! ! !
Just love the Allie Down series so far. The characters are so relatable. The situations are intense and I can’t get enough. Can’t wait for the next one in the series
I enjoyed reading this book. I know many people that leave their small hometown, vowing never to return and happily do. Just needs to find the right fit.
Interesting story line, but a lot of tedious dialogue.
Could not put this down!!
This was a free book from the author. I enjoyed the book, except my pet peeve when other characters call the protagonist by their name in conversation. Who does that? In this story they call her Allie Down, nope.
But the story is believable, character too. Allie is impulsive, but gets the job done.
Overall, I enjoyed the book…
Good story.
Gripping story that hit hard; realistic. Could not put it down until I knew that ending.
I enjoyed the suspense and mystery!
The book was good but the main character had to do everything herself without back up and knew she should but was full of herself. That was my take on it. But I did like the book.
Many people say that “you can never go back,” and yet, Allie has to find her way back and forward simultaneously. While trying to help her solve the mystery of the sick family of “the man,” readers are pushed to search their own memories, mysteries, and motivations.
Loved it!
I did not care fir this book. It just didn’t flow fir me. Sorry
Not my usual genre to read, but a friend highly recommended this book. The cover drew me right in and after reading the blurb, I was hooked. I ended up reading the book in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down! It was that good! There were so many twists and turns that made it nail biting until the very end! I think this new author did an awesome job with this debut book and I can’t wait for the next book! Highly recommend giving this author a try! You won’t be disappointed! Coleen W.